User blog:Verdant Melancholy/To March Forward Chapter 2 (Freezing Fanfic)
Disclaimer: Don't own Freezing. Just a fan. Inner thoughts Message text ---- Chapter 2: Hate in the Heart 0600 Hours, June 2, 2068 (Military Calendar) / Mirai Army Headquarters, Department of Science Living Quarters. Despite having fallen asleep without setting an alarm, Amelia Evans woke up ten-minutes earlier than she normally did. Staring at the ceiling, her mind slowly but surely overcame the lethargic blanket coating her thoughts and sapping her energy. It took a few moments but eventually she forced herself to get up. She swung herself out of bed and preceded to stretch out her neck. The beds afforded to officers like herself were high quality and well made yet did nothing to soothe her restless sleeping. She had not had a good night's rest since before….well, since before Alaska. Amelia stopped stretching and sighed. Elizabeth was always telling her not to let the past control her future. But it was hard to let go. Especially when she had to look at the face of her friends' murderer every day. Director Spencers might have been the guiltiest of all the Chevalier officials in regards to the downfall of the E-Pandora Project, but Dr. Ohara's crime was still worse. She had befriended Amelia and her fellows only to throw them aside in a mad bid to further her own selfish goal. Amelia could never forgive that. Grumbling to herself, she made her way to the bathroom. Thinking about Scarlett and the past always managed to ruin her mood no matter what. Amelia quickly undressed and hopped into the shower. Although mindful that Ohara liked to start the day early, Amelia took her time and treated herself to a nice hot shower. She had no roommate to worry about, being the only Pandora living in the Department of Science's civilian section. She'd never considered that being Ohara's bodyguard would come with perks but she wasn't about to complain. After twenty-minutes Amelia stepped from the shower and quickly got dressed. She donned her uniform and made sure to straighten herself in the mirror. There was no excuse for an officer to appear sloppy, or so Elizabeth was always telling her. She affixed her second lieutenant tags to her chest and straightened a rebellious hair on her head. Peering into the mirror, Amelia declared herself acceptable and turned away. As she always did before leaving, Amelia checked her mail for updates on Luke's condition. She was one of many Pandora infinitely grateful to Dr. Aoi for taking over the Chevalier's duty of providing medical care to the families of active-duty Pandora. Luke had been brought to West Genetics almost immediately after Mirai was officially founded. He and the other seriously ill relatives had a small section allotted to them in the Department of Medicine's recovery center. Elizabeth knew the current Chief Medical Officer well and vouched for her skills. Amelia had been grateful for that. She saw no new updates on Luke, but resolved to make time in her day to visit him. His amyotrophic lateral sclerosis was still persistent, but the doctors claimed he had been looking better lately. Amelia pocketed her holo-phone and walked out the door. Scarlett lived one corridor over from her own room so it did not take long to arrive at her destination. Amelia used a key card to open the door and went in without knocking. The living quarters of Mirai's Chief Scientist were nicer than most city apartments she had been to. It was certainly nicer than the one she and Luke had lived in way back when. The first area upon entering was a well decorated living room with two leather couches and a table surrounded by wooden chairs. The room acted as the center of the apartment and branched off in three directions. Amelia knew that the right and middle hallways led to the kitchen and bathroom respectively. She took the left most door leading to Scarlett's bedroom and office. Checking the time, Amelia quickened her pace, knowing she still had to help the doctor get ready for the day. She found Scarlett Ohara sitting at her desk and reading a book, already dressed. Amelia paused, unsure how to react to the scene. Due to her disability, Scarlett required assistance with putting on clothes and even cleaning herself. Amelia bore those responsibilities without complaint, as she found it satisfying to see firsthand how feeble Scarlett had become. How weak and pathetic her choices in life had made her. But now it seemed that she had overestimated how weak Ohara really was. Scarlett looked up from her book at the sound of footsteps and nodded, "Good morning, Amelia." "Doctor." "I have a busy day ahead of me and would like to start as soon as possible. My laboratory is our first stop." Scarlett closed the book and placed it on top of her desk next to a digital photo. Amelia recognized the man standing next to Scarlett in the image as Dr. Aoi, though she almost didn't recognize him with black hair. The picture had to be over a decade old. Scarlett pushed herself away from the desk with her arms and turned to face her wheelchair. Amelia started forward to assist, only to be waved away. She gaped as Scarlett pushed herself up and forward into the chair. She righted herself quickly and, after tucking some strands of purple hair behind her ear, proceeded to smooth out her skirt. Looking up and seeing Amelia's surprised expression, Scarlett merely shrugged and said "Su-Na is a great workout coach." Ignoring the sense of distaste and trepidation forming in her stomach, Amelia walked behind Scarlett and began pushing her wheelchair. ---- Scarlett's lab was located in the sub-basement of the Department of Science's main building. It had once been the center of West Genetics weapons testing division before Gengo re-assigned it to Plasma and Legendary Stigmata research. Scarlett was the head of the department and tasked with improving all Stigmata systems currently in use. Next to the army, the science department was the largest and most well-funded sector in Mirai. This fact was made obvious to Amelia every time she walked into the lab. The main room was large and crammed full of sophisticated machines whose purpose she could only guess at. One machine to the right of her looked like a Stigmata maintenance scanner, but she honestly couldn't be sure. She wheeled Scarlett over to the main computer, which overlooked a smaller observation room where three Legendary Stigmata were held in containment. There was somebody already at the monitor, bent over a holo-pad and scribbling away. "Early start, eh Atsuko? Amelia watched as Senior Scientist Atsuko Seiga nearly jumped out of her skin at Scarlett's words. She whirled around while clutching the pad to her chest. Upon seeing her superior, she visibly relaxed. "Please don't sneak up on me like that Dr. Ohara," Atsuko looked a bit put off. Scarlett just smirked and replied, "My apologies, I didn't expect you to arrive for another half an hour. Don't you ever sleep?" Atsuko gave a weak laugh, "I prefer to keep myself busy." "Don't we all? But enough banter, how is progress on the purity acceleration?" Amelia immediately tuned out Atsuko's response. She considered herself a fairly intelligent woman, but she often found herself scratching her head at some of the conversations these two scientists had. I mean really, what does "Negative stigmatic compression variable" even mean? She arranged Ohara right next to Atsuko so they could chat more easily. The younger scientist pulled up a chair and then presented her pad to her superior. Amelia noticed that not all the color had returned to Atsuko's face after her fright. It was something of a mystery to her, why Atsuko always seemed nervous or afraid even in the safety of the laboratory. Scarlett hinted to her once that it involved her actions during the war. At the time Amelia had countered that Gengo had personally and publicly forgiven Atsuko and many others for siding with the Chevalier. Scarlett had shaken her head and replied that the old man may have forgiven, but many of his soldiers had not, and perhaps one in particular had made it...known to Atsuko what they thought of her actions. Someone calling her brought her attention back to the present. She looked down to see Scarlett glaring at her, making it clear she had zoned out for a good few minutes. "Yes Doctor?" "The two of us have a lot of work to do today and to be frank you're in the way. Guard the door outside or take the day off, I don't really care," Scarlett did not even wait for a response before turning back around to continue her work. Amelia fumed internally. Normally she was used to Scarlett's brusque manner of speaking, but today it infuriated her. She snapped off a crisp salute before stomping towards the main door. She took up a guard position outside and began plotting ways to make Ohara miserable. Perhaps she'd replaced the Nova researcher's shampoo with nair. That would show her. Over the next hour Amelia admitted various members of Scarlett's staff into the laboratory. They seemed to think that she actually had the authority to stop and check their identifications so many produced them as they walked to the door. Amelia had nothing better to do so she refrained from correcting any of them. Although she was used to long sentry shifts, Amelia was especially restless today. It didn't help that the scientists were a good deal more noisy than average. At one point she actually heard them start to cheer loudly. Thankfully the hours passed swiftly. A soft beep alerted her to an incoming message on her holo-phone. Checking the identity, she smiled to see Elizabeth's name appear. She opened the message and quickly scanned what her friend had to say. It wasn't a very long message and read: Are you free at the moment, Amelia? I plan on touring the cadet dorms to greet our new juniors and was curious if you would accompany me. Amelia couldn't stop from chuckling. Even after all these years, Elizabeth was still forming and strengthening bonds with her fellow Pandora. She was toying with the idea of joining her friend when another cheer originated from beyond the door. A memory suddenly came to Amelia. She remembered cheering just as loudly when Jina and Rattle would try to outdo one another at games. That same feeling of distaste squirmed in her stomach and without truly knowing why, she told Elizabeth that she couldn't get away from her duties at the moment. She pocketed her phone and resumed her watch in silence. ---- At 1200 hours, Amelia stepped back into the lab to find most of the scientists whooping loudly and patting each other on the backs. She stopped a few feet away from where they were grouped and listened to their excited chatter. "We finally did it!" "I never doubted that we could!" "You're a genius Dr. Ohara! A true genius!" In the center of the group sat Scarlett Ohara, a smile as wide as could be on her face. Atsuko was next to her and joined in on lauding the doctor with praise. Everyone in the room seemed to suddenly feel the need to congratulate Scarlett, who did nothing to dissuade their applause. Amelia hated her with every fiber of her being in that moment. Scarlett waved for silence and when everyone quieted, said "We all deserve credit for what has been accomplished today. Through hard work and human ingenuity, we have succeeded in vastly improving our chances of survival against the Nova. As always, we humans are strongest when we put aside our differences and work for a common goal." The group began clapping at the end of Scarlett's speech. Amelia couldn't help but scoff at the whole thing. The scientists then began to break away for lunch, giving her the opportunity to approach Scarlett and Atsuko. She saw Scarlett turn towards her approach, and swore her smirk grew wider, "Curious about the noise?" she asked. Amelia kept her facial expression neutral and replied "Not particularly." Atsuko was unbothered by her tone and excitedly said "We finally cracked the compression problem! Now we can produce Plasma Stigmata with a much greater purity, and that a greater number of our forces can handle. We only have rough estimates at the moment, but if we're right then we can upgrade at least 50% of the regular forces!" Amelia couldn't deny how amazing that was. With Nova Clashes seeing greater and greater numbers of Nova, Mirai desperately needed a large force of powerful soldiers to compensate. They couldn't just rely on the Special Forces to save the day all the time. Scarlett began to speak up, "I thought you'd be more enthused Amelia. I was under the impression that you had friends in the regular forces." That she also couldn't deny. Cassie Lockheart, whom she still owed a great debt, was currently assigned to D Company in the regulars. She didn't admit this to Ohara however, instead replying, "Believe me, I am over the moon about the news." Scarlett narrowed her eyes, but kept silent. After a moment she said, "Anyway, I'm starving and need something to eat. Atsuko, I'll be having lunch with Dr. Aoi in order to inform him of our progress. Join me, won't you?" Atsuko nodded and said, "Of course Dr. Ohara, just let me grab my things." She then turned and walked over to her desk. "I don't require your presence during lunch so you may do as you wish Amelia." Scarlett's tone made it seem like she was speaking to a dog that she didn't want. Amelia nodded, burying her anger. She was not going to make a scene. Instead she asked "And when will you require my presence, Doctor?" Scarlett flicked a bit of lint off her blouse and said "When I require you, you'll be the first to know." ---- To fix her foul mood, Amelia decided to spend her lunch break visiting Luke. The Department of Medicine was located on the opposite side of the academy grounds from the science sector, so Amelia had a bit of a walk ahead of her. Summer was in full swing already and Amelia tugged at her uniform's collar as she walked past the training stadium. Judging from the noise emanating from the structure it seemed First Lieutenant Honda was putting some Valkyrie recruits through their paces. She wished them luck. She knew the Japanese Valkyrie was a hard taskmaster. Though Honda was not as hot-tempered as the woman currently walking towards her from the direction of the medical facilities. Amelia came to attention and snapped off a salute, "Good afternoon, Major Kim." Yu-Mi Kim was a physically intimidating woman, in more ways than one. But she gave Amelia a tired smile as she came forward and said, "To you as well, Second Lieutenant Evans. Ohara have you running errands during lunch?" Amelia laughed, "No, thankfully. I'm actually on my way to the recovery center to see my little brother." Amelia had noticed the direction Yu-Mi had come from and couldn't help but ask "Were you visiting someone at the center?" Major Kim looked a bit uncomfortable at the question. She cleared her voice noisily and said, "Ah, no. Or not exactly. I had a meeting with someone but they aren't a patient." There was a slight blush to Kim's face. Amelia made sure to smother a second laugh, "Well, I won't take up too much of your time Major. Have a nice day." "Good day, Evans." Amelia walked past her fellow Pandora and doubled timed it to her destination. Her lunch break wouldn't last forever after all. ---- The recovery center had received a few additions since the last time she'd been there. Construction was underway near the right side of the building and looked to add additional rooms and housing. Amelia walked inside and made her way to the front desk. The receptionist looked up from her computer and smiled, "Can I help you?" "I'm here to see Luke Evans. He should be in the moderately severe wing." "Let me check for you Lieutenant," After a moment the receptionists nodded, "He has no examination scheduled for today. You can go on in and see him." Amelia thanked her and started making her way through the recovery center. The place was quite busy, with doctors and nurses going to and fro. Eventually, she found the correct wing but not the specific room. She was about to stop one of the nurses when someone caught her eye. A young man was trying and failing to balance two bottles of waters on a tray of snacks. He looked vaguely familiar but Amelia couldn't place him. She swiftly walked over and grabbed a bottle before it rolled out of his arms. He appeared surprised at the assistance and as a result almost tripped and dropped everything else. After righting himself, he said "Oh, thank you. I'm sorry but I'm a bit of a klutz," His face burned with embarrassment. Amelia was finally able to place him, "You're Arnett's Limiter, aren't you? Morrison Abebe?" Morrison looked shocked that she remembered his name, "Ah yes, I am. I'm sorry, but I don't remember your name," His faced burned again. Amelia laughed. Morrison seemed to be the very opposite of his partner in every way, "It's fine. I'm Amelia Evans. And I'm on break so no need to salute." Morrison looked relieved at that, "Thanks again for the help. Are you here to see someone?" "Yes, my little brother is in the south wing." "Oh! He's in the same wing as my mother. I can show you the way if you like." Amelia accepted the help and followed Morrison down the hall. After five minutes they arrived at the appropriate wing and she bid her new friend farewell. As she walked down the aisle, she noticed Morrison stop at a bed with an older woman seated in it. The woman had the same shade of blonde hair as he did. At the end of the aisle was Luke's bed. He was sleeping, and did not look well. His face had a sickly chalkiness to it. His red hair was sweaty and plastered to his forehead. He looked smaller than he should for his age. Amelia sat down next to his bed, took his left hand in hers, and laid a gentle kiss on it. Luke didn't stir. His breathing was labored and he seemed to be in too deep a sleep to notice his sister. Amelia sighed dejectedly. The doctors had put him on a new treatment plan that seemed to be fighting the disease well, but came at the cost of draining his strength and energy. Amelia felt helpless. She had dealt with Luke's illness for years, but had never managed to fully cope with seeing him bedridden like this. It was too unfair, for such a good and responsible boy to have to spend his life in a bed. Amelia wiped a stray tear from her eye, pushed her chair closer to the bed, and gave her brother's hand a squeeze. ---- Having finished all of her duties, Amelia was looking forward to getting back to her room and resting. She had asked the receptionist to email her the schedule for Luke's treatment and hoped most of it took place during the weekend when she had more free time. She also needed to apologize to Elizabeth again for skipping lunch. Passing the security checkpoint into the science housing, Amelia went to the stairs and made her way five flights up in less than a minute. Coming to her room, she paused. She had not heard from Ohara in some time. After lunch, the doctor had dispatched her to bring data packets to the offices of the Department of War and Medicine. She wanted them to begin gathering combat and medical data in preparation for the eventual overhaul of the army's Stigmata. Supreme Commander Aoi had apparently been quite pleased with his Chief Scientist's progress and gave the green light for testing to begin. Amelia chewed her lip in thought. She still couldn't explain this feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was like a mixture of annoyance and fear, a potent mix that had distracted her all day. She wondered if she should ask Elizabeth for advice, but thought better of it. It was her problem and Amelia didn't want to be a burden to her friend. Against her better judgement, Amelia turned away from the door and walked to Scarlett's apartment. She again went in without knocking. The first thing she noticed was the music. It was a soft, calming melody that Amelia couldn't name. Coming into the living room, it was clear the melody originated from a holographic display open on the table. She looked at the display and saw the text Piano Concerto No. 21 'scrolling on a loop. Her attention was diverted by the sound of a door sliding open. Atsuko wheeled Scarlett into the living room, both of them dressed to the nines. The younger scientist wore a sky blue dress that ended above her knee, with matching blue earrings and heels. Scarlett wore a long, deep purple dress that showed quite a bit of cleavage and had applied a generous amount of crimson lipstick and blush to her face. Neither had noticed her yet and continued speaking to each other. "But why are we celebrating at La Donna Sensuale? I thought the professor disliked Italian food?" Atsuko adjusted a loose strand of hair that kept slipping out of her ponytail. Scarlett snorted in response, "Oh, he does. I'll give you three guesses who persuaded him to choose that place. He may be the most brilliant man in the world, but I swear he's got a blind spot when it comes to that girl." Atsuko giggled at Scarlett's criticism of Gengo, before stopping at the sight of Amelia. Both scientists wore looks of surprise, though Scarlett's face had a hard edge to it. "What are you doing here?" demanded the irate Nova researcher. Amelia smiled thinly in greeting, "Just wanted to make sure you had no need of my assistance tonight, Doctor," glancing at their attire, she added "Going to a party?" Atsuko interjected, perhaps sensing the hostility in the air, "Dr. Aoi wanted to celebrate our progress in Stigmata development, so he's treating the Science Department to a night on the town." "I'm the guest of honor, naturally," Scarlett's smug smile was almost more than Amelia could tolerate. "Regrettably, you were not invited Amelia. Colonel Lee will be handling security tonight. You may return to your room and...do whatever it is that you do." That was it. Amelia was done with meekly accepting Scarlett's arrogance, "Perhaps I could help fix your makeup before I go? At the moment, you look a bit like an old whore." Atsuko sucked in a sharp breath at her words, but Scarlett didn't as much as flinch. She regarded Amelia with blank eyes, before smiling lightly and saying "Ah, there it is. You finally dropped the act. Now we can get everything out in the open." "Enlighten me, Doctor, as to what will be out in the open?" "Your petty anger at my successes." Amelia choked on her breath, as a seething fury took hold of her. How ''dare that murderer accuse her of being petty? Any hatred directed at Scarlett Ohara was completely justified. Before Amelia could form a response, Scarlett spoke again, "Did you think nobody would notice? Your acting skills leave much to be desired. Since the day I became Chief Scientist of this organization, I've suffered your silent reproaches and accusations. It must kill you to see me like this, successful and moving forward with my life." Having regained her bearings, Amelia fired back, "You don't understand anything at all." "You think so? I understand that when you learned of our Stigmatic breakthrough today, joy was not your initial emotion. Neither was it relief or even hope. I know you felt angry. Angry for no other reason than that you were forced to watch me succeed. I understand, thanks to your honesty, that you only agreed to remain my bodyguard in order to watch me suffer. Seems I've disappointed you on that end, hmm?" Amelia was quivering in her fury. It took a significant effort not to reach forward and tear that self-righteous look off of Scarlett's face. But Scarlett was still not finished, "I understand Amelia, that you hate me more than some people hate the Nova. And I deserve that. I won't deny it, I was the one who killed your friends. Jina, Rattle, and the other's blood is on my hands. What I don't understand is why you insist on punishing yourself for their deaths even after all this time. I don't understand why you push your new friends away and cling to this job that makes you miserable. After everything you've gone through, don't you think you deserve some happiness?" Amelia suddenly felt light-headed and nauseous. None of that was true. Was it? She didn't push her friends away. Do I? Her duties in the Department of Science were important. A glorified sentry and errand girl, that's all I am. It was too much to admit all at once. Amelia sank into a nearby chair, nearly gagging on a realization. Her life had been stagnant for the last three years. She had done nothing but cling to Scarlett in hopes of exacting revenge, of seeing fate rob her of all that she took from the E-Pandora. Her plan had seemed fine, so long ago. But she had not counted on Scarlett rising above her disability and achieving renown once again. It wasn't fair. When has my life ever been fair? After several moments, Scarlett spoke, "On my computer in the room is a transfer request, signed by myself and Colonel Lee. If you agree to it, effective immediately you will be transferred to Platoon 13. Your things will be moved to the Special Forces Barracks. Barring any Nova Clashes occurring, you will have more time to see your friends and your brother. Do yourself a favor Amelia, and sign the damn thing." Scarlett flicked her hand and Atsuko startled, pushing her wheelchair towards the door. The pair passed Amelia without as much as a glance. Before they left, Scarlett offhandedly said "Turn the music off before you leave, will you?" ---- Amelia collapsed onto her bed without even bothering to remove her boots. She was emotionally drained, unable to even muster the strength to raise her head. It was a sobering experience, to have all your self-destructive faults laid before you. The truth was a bitter pill to swallow, but Amelia had decided not to run from it. She would look into herself and accept what she found, no matter how ugly it was. The beeping of her computer interrupted her thoughts. Amelia considered ignoring it. She could just lie in bed and never get up again. Let all her problems and worries fade away. Along with herself. Then the image of her brother and Elizabeth frowning at her came to mind. Sighing, Amelia heaved herself from the bed and over to her desk. She sat down and activated her computer. She had one new message, the indicator flashing brightly as if to mock her. She selected the message and opened it. The message read: '''Amelia, would you like to join me for lunch tomorrow? The cafeteria shall be hosting a new meal plan and I am quite eager to enjoy the new cuisine. It was signed Your Friend, Elizabeth. Amelia stared at the message for a long time. She was lucky to have such caring people in her life. It galled her to have to admit it, but Scarlett was right about her. She had to stop punishing herself. Jina, Rattle, forgive me but I have to move on with my life. I can't keep running from what happened. Now resolved, Amelia typed back a simple Sounds great. See you then. and sent the message. Smiling, the former E-Pandora got up from her desk and returned to her bed. She picked up the holo-pad she'd taken from Scarlett's room. She scanned the selected document, noting both Scarlett's and Su-Na's signatures in the correct spaces. After a moment, Amelia signed her name at the bottom and sent the document to the Special Forces Department. Amelia reclined back in her bed, turned off the lights, and fell into a calm, restful sleep. ---- Ending Note: And there you have chapter two. Amelia is one of my favorite characters so I knew early on that I wanted to do a chapter focusing on her. In Chapter 156, most people cheered when Amelia told Scarlett she would stick by her side in order to laugh at how pathetic she was but I was in the minority. When I first read that chapter, my first thought was "That's not sustainable. What would Amelia do if Scarlett actually turned her life around and started doing pretty well for herself?" Scarlett will always be disabled, but what if the rest of her life was turning up? I wanted to explore how Amelia would handle that. Things to note. "La Donna Sensuale" is Italian for "The Sensual Woman" and according to my friend an actual restaurant in Italy. Category:Blog posts